Behind The Masks: Season 4
by Oath Flame X13
Summary: The final chapter in Chris Gurumas story. a revival, new allies, and an old enemy. what will become of the Shinigami's future?
1. Chapter 1

Behind The Masks

Season 4

Chapter 1: Second Chances

My name is Chris Guruma, and this is the final chapter in the story that changed my life. It's also the shortest chapter I think. After we… killed… Milton and Charlie, the Hollow problems had practically disappeared. But there was still much to do, at least on my part.

As I sat on the soft grass of my back yard, I concentrated on life… and on my new Kidou spell. I built up as much reiatsu as possible, the ground around me cracking, and released it all into the Kidou spell.

"Bakudou no Zero, Sainen" (revival)

The energy released from my body, forming a circle of ice crystals around me, as an invisible force echoed through the winds. I became dizzy, falling backwards, out of breath. That was the most power draining Kidou I had performed… the revival Kidou, a spell of my own design. It was supposed to bring Milton and Charlie back to life, but so far nothing. I had almost lost hope; it had been over three months since I've been doing that Kidou, once every three days… but nothing seemed to happen.

Lahara walked out to the back yard with some iced-tea. She held my hand as I tried to catch my breath and even up the speed of my heartbeats.

"Still haven't managed?" she asked in a soft voice

"No… I'm starting to lose hope…" I answered

"Come in… get ready, Brian's initiation is today and you're gonna be late… even though you planned it yourself." she said

"Yeah… I bet he's already--gah!" I reacted, getting myself cut off; Lahara sighed loudly as well.

"You felt it too?" she asked

"Let's go!" I said picking up my Zanpaktou

Lahara tossed me Tennotsukai's cape, and we flew off. She called Brian and told him we might be late. Tennotsukai spoke to me.

"How can there be this much reiatsu concentrated in one place, even when Milton and Charles can't summon Hollows anymore."

"I don't know, but it can't be any good." I responded

We caught up with Mike on the way there.

"Dude, what's going on?" he asked

"We don't know, this took us by surprise." Lahara said

"But, wasn't it Milton and Charlie that were summoning the Hollows?" he asked

"They were, that's why there haven't been many Hollows in a while, but this now is just random." I said

"So what do we do?" he asked

"The same thing we always do." I said

"Kick some Hollow ass!" Lahara said… so hot

We reached the place quickly. It was the town square. Large Hollows were rampaging everywhere; there wasn't a human in sight. We crashed in and spread out to battle.

"Descend, Tennotsukai!"

"Spin, Tatsumakimaru!"

"Awaken, Arufa!"

I was just about to start slashing, when I Hollow came close to me and stared straight at me. I felt the power in his eyes, something I had never felt with any other Hollow; because those particular Hollows weren't like the other ones we had fought. There Hollow were… Adjuchas.

The Hollow laughed at me. I closed my eyes and sliced upwards. If he were any other Hollow he would have vanished, but I wasn't expecting that from an Adjuchas. I flew in and sliced like mad in every direction I could. I sent it against a wall. It directed itself towards me.

"Who… do you think you are?"

I began charging a cero on the tip of my index and middle fingers.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked

"Cero… how?" it asked

"I am one of the only two Shinigami I know capable of firing a Cero without the need of a Vizard mask… I am Chris Guruma, captain of the first squad… and you… you're nothing but left over scrap."

I fired the Cero right into its mask, creating a large smoke cloud. Now, he was gone. I wish it could have been the same with the other Adjuchas, but they were so many they began to overpower us; and I was too weak from casting Kidou to release my Bankai. I heard a scream; how dare those low lives hurt my princess! Their asses were mine!

I rushed over to Lahara, sending a few of the Hollows flying away. I picked her up from the ground, her arm was hurt.

"Are you okay?" I asked her

"Yea… it's just a scratch." she said

"We gotta fall back. There's too many of them"

Suddenly we heard a voice come from nearby.

"Do we have to keep saving your asses every time you get in trouble?"

Two voices followed that.

"DESGARRON!"

Two massive energy blasts in claw shape raked through the square. They literally deleted everything in their path, right through the center of the square, stopping on the building opposite of the square; but not before destroying part of it. A massive cloud of smoke and spirits particles was left behind. In between the smoke, two figures walked towards us.

B-side

The two figures walked forward enough to be seen. One of them had, medium length, extremely spiky black hair. His eyes were sharp, like those of a cat. He was wearing, very loose white pants, which seemed to fall down in strips, black boots with thin white lines resembling Japanese style sandals, and a white, short sleeve button shirt, which was opened revealing a small hole right under his well marked abdomen. The strangest part of him was what seemed to be half jaw bone, apparently being part of his left cheek.

The other one wore the same black boots, but also had white, long, wavy pants that almost dragged on the ground, a long sleeved button shirt, which fell back as a cape a little below his knees. With his hands in his pockets, his face showed an expression of being both smiling and serious at the same time. On top of his head, also seeming to b a part of him, was a bone like layered helmet, with what at first seemed to be two small antennae, but were really wolf ear shaped horns.

I honestly couldn't believe what I saw. Was it that they found a way, or that my incessant trying had actually worked. I stood up, as they came towards me.

"You guys… are really back?" I asked, still in disbelief

"Damn right we are; you didn't think death could really stop me did you?" Milton responded

"Well, I kinda did yeah… sort of…" I responded

"So… what do you say we kick some Hollow ass, for old time's sake?" Charlie asked

"Totally… b.t.w. these are Adjuchas." I said

"That just makes it that much more fun." Milton said

Just as they were about to jump in a strange squeaky voice came from behind.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiit, wait, wait, wait! Don't start yet!" a girl said as she came near us

She stopped to catch her breath, her curly brown hair falling over her head. She wore the same style boots as Milton and Charlie, only shorter. She had a white skirt, a little above her knees, and a white sleeve less, v-neck top, with thin black outlines. She raised her head, which was when her mask remnant was visible. It was a tiara, shaped almost like a princesses crown, with a diamond shaped tip in the centermost spike.

She hugged Lahara, as they greeted each other happily.

"Arrancar number…. Number… anyway, Mia Halisama, fraccion of Charlie, at your service!" she said happily

"Now can we kick some ass?" Milton asked

"Fine, as long as you two don't leave me behind again!! I'm not that good a runner yet, I'm still new at this." Mia said

"Whatever, just kick some ass, sugar!" Charlie said, as he and Milton moved in for battle.

"Okay here goes… stand firmly on ground… draw out sword… point forwards… what was it now?… uhh… Roar… Tigeresa!" she said

A bright light escaped her Zanpaktou for a second, quickly fading out. That split second shine had caused her to change shape. She had grown a squiggly white tail, her hair was now very wavy with multiple white stripes. Her top was now a sleek tiger like armor. Her boots had become furry and covered her whole legs. Her forearms were covered by white gloves, which each held a short knife at the tip of her fists. Her tiara had expanded into sharp ears, and covered part of her head like a helmet.

"Wow, that's cool!" Lahara said

"It's not as easy to control as it looks." Mia responded as she ran into battle

She seemed to dance around the field and the Hollows, her fast pace steps followed by swift slicing sounds and splattered blood. Milton seemed to satisfy himself slashing like a mad man in all directions, while laughing maniacally. Charlie took his movements a bit slower, with more precise movements, and quick evasions.

I pulled out some bandages from my pockets and attended to Lahara's wound. Just then a familiar voice came flying from above, rotating a double blade in his hands while descending.

"I figured you'd be in trouble! Ban-kai!" it was Brian

Kouzoku no Ryukasai

Brian dashed in to battle as well, sending forward the multiple glowing blades that surrounded him. They sliced first then exploded. The battle had gotten a lot easier. Just when they were down to just a few, a call was heard from one of them.

"Retreat! We must return to our master!" they all took off leaving behind a small trace of dust

The guys gathered around where Lahara and I were. Mike was as happy as ever to have his friends back, even if they looked freaky. Brian, on the other hand, was utterly confused.

"But… I thought you guys were bad… and dead! And now you're good… and alive? How?" he asked

"That's actually the funny part, we don't know. We were laying low like Chris told us, until one day we started getting solid little by little." Milton explained

"Next thing we knew we were alive, with masks on. We agreed that we had gotten a second chance, so we thought we might take it and do something good for a change." Charlie added

"We ripped off parts of our masks, and they joined together and formed our Zanpaktou. We still don't know where the masks came from though." Mia said

"After that, we kept feeling bursts of reiatsu crash against us. There was another one today." Milton added

"Wait… that means my Kidou worked!" I said

"Say what?" Milton asked

"I made up a new Kidou to try to revive you guys by burning off my own energy; and it worked!" I said exited

"Dude, that is so awesome!" Mike said

"It very much is!" Mia said dancing

"So, cappy… what say you we head back to where we should be?" Brian said

"Eager much? Yea, let's go!" I said as we headed off back to our base at the abandoned storage house.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: First time for everything

We got back to the base and told everyone what happened with Milton and Charlie before they got jumped. Everyone understood their positions and accepted them as they were. They were actually quite fascinated with their masks, especially with Milton, who seemed to be a copy of the very famous Grimmjow. It figured though, Milton had always been obsessed with Grimmjow. Cosplaying him should be a breeze now.

After everyone got to meet each other, we began the initiation of our new squad Captain, Brian Crux. Mike and I stood in front of everyone with Brian.

"Sooo… today, our squads will expand. From Kidou and power, to speed. For showing your ability at mastering Shunpo, as well as your skills in battle; we confer upon you the position of third squad Captain. Do you promise to do your best with this position?" I asked finishing

"Totally" he answered

I handed him his cape, while everyone cheered and clapped. Brian turned the cape over to admire the symbol on the back, Speed; he put it on, his smile taking up most of his face.

"Okay… so… what now?" I asked Mike, sort of confused

"Split the groups dude." he said

"Oh, right. So now, those who feel like perfecting Kidou form up to the right, those who want to keep practicing power, form up in the center, and those who want to go all out speed, form up to the left." the groups did so, most of them going out for speed

"Whoa… that's a whole bunch!" Brian said

"Don't worry, Captain Brian, you can handle it." I said

"Yes… yes I can… this is so awesome." he said "so now what?"

"What do you mean, now what? Gather up some friends and go celebrate!" I said "We'll meet back here in… one week, in the meantime I want you guys to practice… having fun! We'll take care of any Hollow trouble, you guys deserve some time for yourselves. Take care"

They all split, which was then that I noticed Axel had joined Brian's squad. Axel was a pretty good fighter too. Everyone left rather quickly, eager to celebrate.

"So… what do you guys say we go hang out?" Charlie asked

"We could, but don't you think people will notice something strange about you guys?" I asked

"Like what?" Charlie asked

"The asks dude, the masks." Mike said

"Oh don't worry about that, Charlie's got us covered. Show em' man." Milton said

Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle, full of small round pills. He opened it with a soft pop, and took three pills out. He handed one to Milton, one to Mia and kept one for himself. Milton swallowed a pill.

"Watch this" he said

His mask fragment glowed for a second, and then slowly became invisible.

"Wha… cool. How?" I asked

"Charlie been all brain maniac-ish lately. He invented the pills by "studying" our masks and making something against it… or something like that." Milton said

"It's simple actually. You see when…"

He began saying a whole bunch of smart words explaining how the pills make the masks invisible, making them seem like normal humans.

"Okay dude, Shut up! The pills make us look like normal humans, end of story." Milton said shutting Charlie up

"Awesome Dude" Mike said

"He never let's me show off what I've learned." Charlie said pouting as he took a pill

"Yeah… he usually get's like that…" Mia said as she took a pill

"So, do we go or not?" I asked

B-side

The group split up. Lahara and Mia went with Isa and Zile to… the mall… as usual. The guys and I went to the beach boardwalk to watch the surfers ride the waves. We didn't really surf much, thought we knew how to, but we had just as much fun watching other people surf… and fall off their boards.

We walked through the boardwalk as slow as we could, catching up with the guys on all the things they did while they were dead… okay that sounds like major weirdness, but that's what we did.

As we walked, I saw a peculiar postcard on a stand in front of one of the shops. It was a sunset, a beautiful sunset, almost identical to the one we saw that day on the mountain, overlooking the sea. I called Milton over and showed him.

"Yeah… what? It's just a sunset?" he said blankly

"I thought you liked sunsets." I said

"What makes you say that?" he asked, still blank

"You said that when we were up at the…"

"Oh that!" he said cutting me off "I just said that to impress Zile; honestly I could care less, but girls dig sensitive guys… at least Zile does." he said

"Then how did she end up with you?" I asked

"Very funny"

"Dude, check this out!" Mike called us over

He and Charlie were talking to a young boy. He was wearing surfer shorts, and a plain white tee. In his chest, a small chain dangled, flowing with the breeze.

"No way… is that?"

A soul. A real live… or… dead, soul. This was amazing… could this mean there really was another world where they continued living? Was the Soul Society real? We ran over the him.

"Hey… you're…"

"The name's Sami. Like I told your friends I've been dead for a while."

We had so many questions, and he had so much to say. Our first question was, is there really a Soul Society? He told us that he had met many Souls and that he had learned a whole bunch, but there was no such thing as the Soul Society. Apparently Kubo Tite made that part up. According to what he told us, when good people die, they go to Heaven. But when bad people die they go to hell. But when a good person dies doing something bad, or when a bad person dies doing something good, they are given a chance at redemption.

They stay in the earth as ghosts, where their following action determines their fate. If they choose to do something good right away, a portal opens up, which lead to Heaven. They may cross this portal whenever they feel they are ready. However, if they choose to do something bad, their evil energy turns them into a Hollow, creating a living hell of constant pain for them. They then move out to seek the souls of those who still haven't moved on through their portal to Heaven. They think that consuming these good souls will ease their pain, but all it does is repress it for some time.

"Okay… so why haven't you moved on?" Milton asked

"I'm still waiting for a friend of mine to learn how to surf. I want to see him nail a wave without falling off his board. Then I'll move on." he said

We went with him to the shore, where the surfers were easily seen doing tricks on the oncoming waves. There was one boy who stood out… because he couldn't land a single wave right.

"That's the dude?" Mike asked

"Yeah, that's him" Toni said

"Let's watch." Milton said, and so we did

We waited for hours, hoping the boy would finally survive one, but nothing happened. After about three hours, he seemed to have given up. He swam out and stuck his board on the sand. He gave a long sigh, as if completely hopeless.

"Looks like he need a little push." I said

"Yeah… I guess he does. Do you think he'll hear me?" he asked

"Not sure… but if you try hard enough, he might sense you."

"Yeah… yea, that's it. I'll be right back." he said as he jumped off and ran to his friend.

He waved a hand in front of his face, made funny faces and even danced stupidly, but his friend didn't seem to notice anything. He then sat next to him, and began whispering something. He motioned his hands as if explaining a point. He kept doing the same thing for a while… about five minutes Toni's friend got up and headed for the waves again. Toni ran back towards us. We saw as his friend went up the waves. He balanced himself in a different manner than before.

We came up to the wave with utmost confidence. Forward, high speed, up the wave, jump, spin, flip, land… success. He made it.

"Alright! Finally!… Now I'll move on."

Toni said as he looked up, and disappeared into thin air.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: More mystery

After witnessing Toni disappear, we went back home that day. However the next day we had an encounter with a small group of Adjuchas. It was a short battle, but just as the last one was starting to fade away like the others, it said:

"Our master will be sure do deal with you"

Again with this 'Master'. Who was this guy anyway?

About a week after that, another larger group of Adjuchas confronted us. This battle was a bit more challenging, but we still managed. I had recovered my lost energy, so I was able to battle more effectively. One of them escaped, badly wounded. But as it did, it shouted:

"My master won't let you get away with this."

A couple of days after that, a single Hollow came to us offering a proposition. The weirdest thing is that he actually knocked on the warehouse door. It said:

"Let my master take control of your abilities and your world, and your lives will be forgiven."

Now, I'm not sure about the guys, but this totally ticked me off! I mean, who does this 'master' guy think he is? He has the nerve to send someone to threaten us, just like that. The guys seemed to be all confused and crap, but I knew exactly what I was gonna do. I got closer to the Hollow. It didn't feel like ad adjuchas, though. It was about as tall as Tennotsukai, and had a lizard like appearance, standing in its hind legs.

"I have a message for you master" I said

I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him clear off his feet. (I honestly didn't know I was this strong) I looked him straight in the eyes, squeezing his neck. He seemed to be running out of air. I raised my other and grasped his shoulder tight. I squeezed hard… and yanked it off, blood splattering all around. I heard three gasps from behind me, which were actually overshadowed by the Hollows wheeze like screaming.

I threw him forwards, making him skid a few feet on the pavement, and threw him his arm.

"Understand the message?" I asked, he responded with a loud scream, a growl, and a disappearing act.

"Aren't I supposed to be the psycho one?" Milton asked

B-side

After I… got done with the Hollow, we went back home to spend some time between friends. We didn't really do much, other than brainstorm, like we usually did, and have some fun.

"So… this master dude the Hollows keep talking about… who do you guys think it is?" Mike asked

"I've got no clue." Charlie said

"Maybe it's one of your enemies?" Isa said

"Don't think so, we don't really have enemies, we've tortured everyone we've met." Milton said

"Maybe it's a Hollow?" Lahara asked

"It would have to be a Vasto Lorde." I said

"How do you figure?" Zile asked

"These latest Hollow have all been Adjuchas. The only Hollow stronger than an Adjuchas would be a Vasto Lorde Hollow." I said

"Or something else entirely." Charlie added

"How come?" Mia asked

"Well, our enemies aren't always just like in the anime, so it could be a huge mix of a whole bunch of things put together, like Milton's 'dolor' release." Charlie answered

"Hey, that was one kick ass release, bro!" Milton said

"I know, I know" Charlie said "Mine was better" he continued in a whisper, Milton didn't hear him, luckily

"So… what's our best bet?" Milton asked

"I guess just… be ready for anything." I said

"Like we always have, right?" Mike asked

"Totally" Lahara said

After our brainstorm session was done, everyone split, except Lahara; she had something important to say.

"What's up?" I asked

"There's a favor I need to ask…" she said sensually as she got closer to me

"and what could that be?" I asked

"well… remember that time I said I had to go out for a while?" she asked me while she lifted my shirt slightly and sneaked her hands inside

"we--ooh… well, if you have to--oh, go out for a while, its ok.--ahhh" I sort of said

"weeeell… I'm gonna do something, so I'm going to be out of your reach, while I awaken my Zanpaktou's inner power." she said, then took off my shirt and threw me on the couch; thank God my parents weren't home at the time. She then jumped and landed… well… on me… and stuff…

"is… that… ok… with… You?" she said, as she kissed me softly, while smoothing my chest and abdomen with the tips of her fingers. I tried to say anything that would say the moment last

"well… I… think… it's…" I said very slowly

"Chris…. Can I?" she said whispering in my ear

"yeah" I said whispering back

"You know something…" she said, still smoothing my chest with her fingertips

"What's that?" I said in a whisper as well

"Fighting Hollows has done some good for your body." she said, extra sensually

"Really?" I asked

"Yeah… do you know what this calls for?" she said

"yeah?" I said, ready for anything

"a cold shower" she whispered

"oh yeah -- what?" I reacted

"you didn't think I was going to let you score, did you?" she asked

"Yeah, actually, I did!" I said… I mean, come on! Seriously! You can't just let a man hanging once you start things… I felt like I had the worlds highest fever. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing. Just go on like you normally would. I'm gonna be indisposed for a few days." she said

"What are you gonna do?" I asked

"I can't tell you, but I promise I'll be fine." she said

"Is it dangerous?" I asked

"a little" she said

"are you gonna be okay?" I asked her

"yeah… I promise" she said, wiping her hands over my abdomen one last time, and then getting off from on top of me.

"okay…" I said

"why are you so warm?" she asked, changing the subject

"is it not obvious?" I said, to what she simply smiled wide


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: the mystery reveals itself

Lahara did what she had to. She suddenly disappeared for a while. No one knew where she was, not even her parents, or the girls. I was actually worried. What was she gonna be doing that she needed to disappear. Nevertheless, she told me to do things like we normally did, so I did.

Our squads met up at our usual training spot. We designed new speed, strength and Kidou routines. Full power, hardcore routines that we hoped would help us increase our abilities by as much as possible. By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, even we were. The funny thing is that Milton and Charlie did the routines with our squad, and were exhausted as well.

"Captain… no offense but… why are we doing these new routines? Their exhausting." Hiroki came up and asked me.

"I guess you should know. Listen up guys… the end draws near… I think… the thing is… through all of our recent battles, we've encountered a class of Hollow known as Adjuchas. These Hollow have been making mention of some sort of 'master'. we were sent a message to give up our power, we refused; so we are expecting him to be angry. If he is… he should be giving his final strike any time soon, so we need to be ready." I explained

"I see… don't worry Captain, we can make it. Right guys!" Hiroki said creating an outbreak of cheering and whistling. He Didn't notice, but his reiatsu gave a quick jolt.

I honestly felt like we were ready for anything. Hiroki made a good job of cheering the guys up. The next day we sensed a strange current of reiatsu coming from somewhere. All squads moved out.

We started following the strange signature, when I noticed something that should, but didn't surprise me. We were headed in the same direction as our battle with Milton and Charlie, our other battle with Milton, and our battle with the Vasto Lorde. I wanted to know what was up with that place, but the only thing that came to mind was that the place was filled with traces of spirit energy.

We continued onward, finally reaching the spot. We landed softly in middle of the soft dust that was kicked up by the breeze. Right in the center of the field there was a tall man, his back facing towards us. He slowly turned around to face us.

He was completely bald, as if his head was shaved. His expensive looking jacket was open, revealing his chest; and on his chest was an ever so familiar sword carving. It was a large tic-tac-toe board, with one letter in each cube: I-A-M-H-O-L-L-O-W.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The signal was coming from the bald guy, that bald guy; the same bald guy that almost got us killed several times. He was the source of the signal. As he faced us a large aura of reiatsu formed around him, he was lifted off the ground by the energy.

On his right hand, a strange white substance appeared and formed into what seemed to be a mask. It was an oval shape with two large eye holes, two rows of sharp intertwined fangs, and four horns. Two of them curved downward, surrounding the actual mask, while two more curved outwards with a slight curve up.

He placed it on his face, and instantly, along with a massive tremor, hundreds and hundreds of Hollows rose up from the ground. It broke the record for the most hideous thing I have ever seen. The man spoke.

"On most stories, the main character lives to discover the mystery… but on my stories the mystery reveals itself to the main character, and kills him. Well guess what, I am the mystery, and you four are the main characters… prepare to die." he said as the ground began to shake creating some sort of dimensional hole on the ground right beneath us.

Milton, Charlie, Mike and I were pulled inside by its force. As I turned I saw Mia trying to reach for us, but we were too far away…

B-side

We were pulled into the portal, but instead of falling like you usually would in bottomless pits, we stopped and began to float in midair inside the tunnel like space.

"Dude… where are we?" Mike asked

"Milton, you don't think…" Charlie said waiting for Milton

"Yeah, it looks like it." Milton said

"Dude, what it this?" Mike said

"It's a Garganta" Milton said

"No way… cool" I whispered (so this is what its like to be inside a Garganta)

"The question is, where does it lead?" Charlie said

A voice echoed from the other side of the tunnel.

"If you wanna find out, you'll have to fight your way out." the bald man said as he snapped his fingers

Four large grey tentacle like energy streams escaped from different parts of his body. They formed themselves in front of us each taking a different shape. In front of Mike, the grey energy turned into a sort of large, armored knight, with a large hole in its chest. In front of Charlie, the energy formed into dragon, with a large hole in the base of its long neck. In front of Milton, the energy formed into a large, four winged bat, with a small hole in its abdomen.

In front of me, the energy took shape into… me. It seemed strange for a second, but it was me, a grey colored copy of me, with two large black wings, similar to my Bankai form. Instead of long white hair, it was jet black hair, completely upwards. There was a small hole in the center of its chest. I was… confused and scared. Was I battling myself, of Tennotsukai, or something else entirely. I completely froze.

The guys began battle, but I was frozen; stuck in the same spot. The shadow moved in, it was about to strike when…

"MOVE"

My arm raised and blocked the sword, out of my control. It was Tennotsukai; he moved my arm and protected me from the attack.

"What are you doing? Wake up!"

"I… how can I fight? It's you!" I said

"Don't be an idiot! How can I be in front of you when your holding me in your hand! Now snap out of it and fight! Fight like you did your inner Hollow."

"You were there?" I said still holding my shadow in place

"No shit Sherlock. I was everything. If you could beat your inner hollow without the need of Bankai, then you can kick the crap out of this guy no problem. You used your heart in that battle; now use it again!"

He was right. I had forgotten how to fight with my heart. I was relying on just power. The mask, my Bankai… if I didn't use them I felt like I couldn't battle, but I was wrong. All I needed was heart, and victory was mine.

I kicked the shadow backwards and clenched by blade tight. A large aura of reiatsu formed around me and started spinning, creating more energy. The same pale blue energy surrounded my Zanpaktou like a wrapping snake. I pointed it towards the shadow.

"White Fang"

The energy shot forward in a zigzagged shape, striking the shadow right where its Hollow hole was. It exploded in a star shape, causing damage and paralyzing it. I moved in quickly and sliced it multiple times. It screeched loudly just before exploding into dust.

I turned towards the guys, they seemed to have been done some time before me… while I was still learning my lesson. What really amazed me was how easily we defeated those shadows. Did he really think that was going to stop us? The Garganta opened up on one side. The force from the tunnel pushed us outward.

We were back at the battle field. Our squads fierce in battle. I was still dizzy from the force, and was pushed aside by a large force. The massive Adjuchas Hollow jumped to where I was. I was about to be crushed by an incoming claw, when, in a flash, the claw was stopped by a blue blade.

"I gotcha Captain!"

It was Hiroki. He had stopped the claw… awesome. The guy was stronger than he looked. He pushed back until the Hollow withdrew its claw, then he gave a quick slash. The Hollow vanished.

"You okay Cap?" he said

"Yeah, that was awesome!" I said

A tremor began shaking the ground we stood on. A powerful scream echoed through the field. Everyone looked up to see the bald man wearing his mask. His scream intensified creating a sonic wave. His form intensified as well. He grew several spikes on his back, his hands turned into long, sharp claws, a hole opened up in his chest.

"That was just a warm up! Now you'll face me… my true power! I will get my revenge!" he said, his voice echoing like a Hollows through the entire field. "Attack!"

"Not if I can help it!" a soft voice said from afar, while a tornado came in and swiped multiple Hollows aside.

Lahara descended right in front of me enveloped in a tornado. She was back… from whatever it was she was doing.

"You're back!" I said

"And just in time apparently." she said smiling "Wanna know what I was doing?" she asked me

"Totally"

"Get ready" she said, her expression changing into a serious one

BANKAI


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: the final way

No way. All the time the mystery Lahara was keeping from me was this. She was going off on Bankai training… amazing!

BANKAI

A large blast of wind was blown off from her fans, shielding her and causing damage to surrounding enemies. Her Bankai form was beautiful. She was dressed in a long, black, wavy skirt and heels, a long sleeve black blouse with beaded black gloves. Her hair fell down over her shoulders, and back reaching her waist. Over her shoulders was a black veil, which matched with the small veil that fell backwards from the tiara on her head. She held a small fan on her right hand, which she slowly took away from her face, and a sword sized fan on her left hand, which she grabbed by a sword handle. Slowly spinning around her were three large fans.

"Jipushi-hidenka Tatsumakimaru" (Gypsy Princess Tornado Ring)

"Now I'm ready… let's go" she said in a smooth enchanting voice

A tornado formed under her, lifting her up into the air, along with several Hollow, which seemed to be under a trance. Everything seemed to be going our way, we just needed to take down the big guy up there, and it was all over.

"Hiroki!" I called

"Yes Cap?"

"I might be busy for a while, your in charge of squad one, got it?"

"No problem!" He said as he spun into battle.

I flew upwards towards 'Hollow Man', followed by Milton Charlie and Mike.

"What do you want?" I asked

"You destroyed me life, my plans, my reputation and my dignity… and you still have the nerve to ask what I want… I want revenge… for EVERYTHING YOU DID TO MEEEE!" his voice echoed creating a sonic wave.

He pointed his hands towards us, four strings were shot at high speed. They made contact with us. The bald guy then pulled us towards him; just as we were about to crash a large black hole opened up. We were sucked in… again.

I opened my eyes and found myself in a dark place. But it wasn't a creepy darkness like you would imagine, it was a calm, soothing darkness. The place seemed to go on forever. Throughout the whole… dimension… thing, multiple colored energy dust floated around. We were obviously not in another Garganta.

"Dude… where are we now?" Mike asked

"Don't know" Milton said

"Behold… the realm of the dead! This is where people like me, kill people like you." he said

He pointed his hands towards us again, firing four different colored beams. They flew towards us, but stopped before they hit us, forming four different colored rings. One silver, one gold, one purple, one white.

"Here's the deal… I won't be able to enjoy killing you if I kill you all at once; so I'll summon you one by one so I can enjoy killing you, and your friends will watch. What do you say?" he said

"Yeah… like that's gonna work." Milton said as he flew out towards him

He was going straight at him, but as soon as he reached the four rings, we was shocked by some strange reiatsu and sent flying backwards. The rings kept us from getting any closer. He had pretty much complete control over us.

"Now let's see… ahh yes… the knight first. Come!" he said

He pointed a hand towards us, the gold ring vanished. Mike flew towards him, gold being his Bankai forms color, and faced him.

"Prepare to feel the power of a full fledged Vasto Lorde!"

"Whatever Dude, the knight can take on anything you throw at him! Bankai!"

Mike exploded in a blast of golden reiatsu. The full power of his Bankai form made the place spark up for a few seconds.

"Arufa-Omega"

He flew in punching and slashing at full speed. All of which were blocked by the bald guys Hollow claws. They were both fast, and strong. Mike charged up reiatsu onto both arms and legs. Hollow Man managed to block the first few punched, but Mikes legs were too fast for him, he was sent flying side to side by a combination of Shunpo and left right kicks. Mike went in for a spinning kick, which was dodged luckily by Hollow Man. The next two were barely dodged as well.

Mike began charging reiatsu… a lot of it. It felt as if all of his reiatsu was being charged into one small spot. We could feel the place tremble with reiatsu. I didn't know Mike was this strong. After a few seconds he stopped charging, but we could all feel some pressure all over.

Mike disappeared and reappeared in front of Hollow Man. He grabbed him by the neck and reiatsu kicked him. The massive amount of energy created an explosion, large enough to shake the whole dimension. The blinding light spread throughout the whole place. I tried looking, but all I saw was a large amount of pink reiatsu crashing against Mike. He flew towards us and was locked inside the gold ring once again.

B-side

Mike floated next to us, full of slashes, cuts and blood. We didn't know how, but he had been… partially defeated… in just a flash. Hollow man was exhausted as well, his right arm was bleeding from a deep wound. He raised his left arm and muttered something under his breath. A strange white substance formed and spread through his entire body. It covered his wound, stopping the bleeding.

His entire body was covered in the white substance, which now looked like an armor. His heavy breathing subsided, he seemed to have completely recovered. He pointed a hand towards us again. The white line disappeared.

"Come forth, dragon!"

"My pleasure… though you might wanna reconsider the whole dragon thing." Charlie said as he floated towards Hollow Man

"Why may that be?"

"You'll soon find out… Milton, you know what to do." Charlie said

"Right." he said as he placed his hands forward creating a barrier around us.

"What's the barrier for?" I asked

"You'll see… you never got to see our new releases did you?" Milton asked

"Don't think so." I said

"Watch… this is gonna be fun." Milton said, smiling "Go get him, Charles

UNARI… LOBO BLANCO (Howl, White Wolf)

A loud Howl echoed through the space; strong winds followed by a white light filled everything in sight. It glowed stronger before disappearing. Charlie was covered in a strange white substance. His hands had become claws, as well as his feet. He had a furry tail and sharp ears. The rest of his body was covered in a wolf like armor, except his face. His helmet took the appearance of a wolfs fangs.

He disappeared and appeared in front of Hollow Man. His claw was blocked by Hollow Mans claw. They clashed a few times, claw against claw, but neither seemed to be getting anywhere. Charlie fired a Cero, Hollow Man did too, they caused an explosion. Charlie backed away from him.

"I see we are evenly matched." Hollow Man said

"Wrong, I'm just holding back… Segunda Resureccion, Gran Lobo Blanco" (Great White Wolf)

Charlie's arms grew large forward spikes. His tail grew long and sharp, then bent forward like the stinger on a scorpion, taking the shape of a white scythe. An even louder howl came form his mouth creating a sonic wave that shook the entire space. It was a simple power up, but it felt very… well, powerful.

Charlie flew forward at high speed. He began spinning like mad so fast that Hollow Man had no escape but to try to block the many blades on Charlie's body. But his armor was no match for Charlie's spinning speed. In a quick flash of power and speed, a shot of blood was sent flying through the entire space. Charlie stopped spinning, to admire the disaster he had caused.

Hollow Man pointed a hand forward and muttered something under his breath. A large piece of something ( I couldn't see because Charlie was in the way) was shot at Charlie with great force. He was sent flying towards us, he actually crashed against Mike. The white ring reappeared, trapping Charlie inside.

"Damn… that was fast!" Charlie said, concealing his release form.

"Now what?" Milton asked

"Now, you'll see." Hollow Man said

His body was covered in black reiatsu, turning his armor black. The reiatsu repaired the armor, sealing his wounds as well.

"What? Is he gonna just heal himself every time we come in?" I asked

"Let's find out" Milton said, as the purple ring disappeared

"Chimera… your turn." Hollow Man said

"Right on cue. Charles… cover yourself." Milton said as he flew forward "This is gonna get messy."

"Alright" Charlie said as he made another barrier around us

"Show me how messy."

"Teiku Issai Itonami, Vanpiro" (Take all life, Vampire)

Black reiatsu blew up on Miton's body. It spread outward, making Charlie's barrier shake a little. Some time later, Milton's release form was finally visible. His mask fragment had disappeared and had been replaced with large, backward bending horns from his forehead. He grew two large bat wings, his arms were covered in a black, bone like material, his hands had become sharp claws as well. Just as his transformation had been complete, he summoned something else.

"Segunda resureccion… Vanpiro Asesino" (Killer Vampire)

The black reiatsu engulfed his body once more, except this time there was no explosion. A few seconds later, the reiatsu vanished. He now had six large bat wings, he had grown large, sharp fangs as well. His actual body had grown somewhat muscular, which was quite noticeable due to the black armor like material spreading to his shoulders and part of his torso in a spike pattern.

Milton flew forward at blinding fast speed. He tackled Hollow Man, full force, sending him flying backwards. He flew about 100 meters backwards, then disappeared when he finally took control of his body. He appeared in front of Milton, who grabbed him by the neck and sliced him with a claw. Hollow Man kicked Milton back a few feet, then fired a Cero. Milton opened his mouth and swallowed… yes, swallowed, the Cero. His eyes started to glow black, and he fired two giant purple Cero's from his eyes.

They crashed against Hollow Man, sending him about 100 meters back once more… or maybe even further, the thing is that we could barely see him. Milton joined the six tips of his six wings together. Am amazing amount of black reiatsu charged from them. I have no clue how, but Milton knew where he was aiming.

"Cero Oscuras"

The massive black Cero was shot forward, faster than any Cero I've ever seen. It flew towards Hollow Man… then there was silence. We waited for the explosion, but there was nothing. About two seconds later a massive black Cero was shot back at Milton with twice the speed.

It blew up on Milton, sending him flying backwards… fast! Charlie took down the barrier, just in time to catch Milton. His release form had been cancelled.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Finish him off

A few seconds after Charlie caught Milton, Hollow Man appeared in front of us, in his normal form. No armor, no mask, just plain human looking. Then again, appearances can be deceiving. His body had several, slowly bleeding wounds. The guys were exhausted, especially Milton, after taking such massive damage from a cero identical in power as his. I guess he was too strong for himself, huh?

Hollow man raised a hand at us again. The gold ring disappeared. I knew what I had to do… I had to find a way to beat this guy, or else we were all dead. I couldn't stop thinking of everyone back home. If I didn't win this, they were pretty much dead too. Hundreds of thoughts clouded my mind, until a loud scream inside my head interrupted them.

"CHRIS, CHRIS, CAN YOU HEAR ME!" Tennotsukai screamed inside my head

"Yes man, I hear you." I answered

"Finally. Those rings were blocking our communication. Listen, I know where we are, and it's important you know." he said

"This is the final bout, angel. I suggest you back down now with dignity." Hollow Man said

"How come?" I asked

"I have every power you can ever dream of. Every ability that has ever existed and ever will exist." he said

"He's only saying that because he's ran out of powers to use." Tennotsukai told me mentally

"Why?" I asked

"This place is known as the realm of beginnings. This very place is where all Zanpaktou are born, and where they rest." he said

"What?" asked again

"When a Shinigami receives their Zanpaktou, it comes from here. When that Shinigami dies, the spirit of the Zanpaktou comes back here, to rest for eternity in peace. All the spirits of all the past Zanpaktou are here. Because they were all obedient when their Shinigami was alive, they will be obedient to anyone who calls on them." he exlained

"So, when he says he has all the powers that ever existed… he mean he can summon past Zanpaktou's power?" I asked

"Exactly"

"Wait… that means… The pink blast that hit mike, The explosion that got Charlie, And Milton's Cero"

"None of those were his powers, but don't fret. Fight with your heart."

"You're right. I know what I have to do."

"Come on Angel!" Hollow Man said

"I'm not afraid of you… I've figured out your secret, and now I'm taking you down."

"Hahaha… normally I'd kill you slowly, but you've toyed with my patience long enough."

Hollow Man raised a hand and summoned power.

"Suzumebachi"

Gold dust formed around his wrist, wrapping it. His middle finger became coated in a gold, blade like stinger, about two feet long. An exaggerated version of Soifon's Shikai. He was headed for death in two steps. He disappeared and appeared in front of me. He swung at me, but I blocked it with my Zanpaktou, and moved behind him. He turned for a kick, but I flew upwards and dodged it. He summoned more power.

"Hajike, Tobiume"

The stinger in his hands transformed into a blade with the appearance of a tree branch. He aimed at me and fired a sort of fireball. I took my chance.

"Yuyami ni izanae, Mirokumaru!

My Zanpaktou transformed into a golden staff, with multiple rings at the tip. I aimed at the fireball, and a large stream of wind and lightning was shot forward from the rings. It blew away the fireball, and kept going until it hit him. He disappeared and appeared above me.

"Bankai, Raika Gouen Kaku"

His blade turned into a large shell with a big red hook. He fired an even greater fireball than before, straight at me. It came fast, but my thoughts came faster.

"Bankai, Hihiou Zabimaru!" my Zanpaktou turned into the gigantic bone serpent.

It flew upwards crashing into the fireball. It broke into pieces for a few seconds, then reformed and slithered back to where I was. Hollow Man was furious. He summoned more power.

"… Murucierago"

"Kishire, Pantera"

He grew bat wings, while I grew claws and a tail. We flew into each other. My claws stopping his lance, his wings stopping my tail. We clashed in a hand to hand battle for a few seconds, until we kicked each other simultaneously, sending each back to our original positions. He summoned power again, so did I.

"Katen Kyokutsu"

"Suiten sakamake, Nejibana"

Let's see who was stronger, his wind, or my water. I sent a current of water at him, but he blew it aside with a strong gust of wind. He sent another gust of wind at me, knocking me back some distance. I switched strategies.

"Chire, Senbonzakura!"

I sent the pink flying blades towards him, but they were also blown away. He sent yet another gust of wind at me, I managed to dodge it.

"You have no mastery of this power. You're going down." he said to me

"We'll see about that."

"Yes we will. Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!" he summoned laughing like a maniac

But once again my thoughts were faster.

"Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu"

My Zanpaktou turned black, sleek and weightless. The countless Senbonzakura petals homed in on me. With a quick slash of my blade I blew away all of the petals, one by one. I acted quickly before he could do anything. I started rotating my blade, building up reiatsu onto it, then released it all in one shot.

"Getsuga Tenshou"

The blast flew directly toward him for a sure hit, but the bastards mind was pretty fast too.

"Sogyo no Kotowari"

He fired the Getsuga back at me. I panicked for a second, but I heard Tennotsukai speak to me.

"Use your heart! Use your Soul!"

I raised my hand upwards and caught the blast. I held it there as it pushed against my palm, but I pushed back as hard as I could until finally… it broke! I defeated my own Getsuga Tenshou. My palm and part of my forearm ended up singed by the burn.

"Don't you see… you can't beat me. Not as long as I fight with heart and soul. My heart is strong, and my soul is stronger. You are going down." I said, as I summoned my favorite Zanpaktou from the anime

"Mae, Sode no Shirayuki" my black Zanpaktou turned completely white with a long white ribbon at the end.

He tried summoning more power… but that was it, power. There was no heart or soul, just pure brute strength. Cool looking brute strength, but brute strength nonetheless.

"Bankai, Ryumon Houzukimaru"

He summoned the giant blades, but he was so exhausted to even move their incredible weight.

"Tsugi no Mae, Hakuren"

A large jet of ice was fired straight toward Hollow Man from my Zanpaktou. It encased him in ice for a few seconds. The ice broke after a few seconds, revealing a semi frozen Hollow Man with broken blades floating dazed in midair. I summoned more strength from the Zanpaktou spirits in the realm.

"Souten ni Zase, Hyourinmaru!"

I sent forward the giant ice dragon. It slithered through the air, crashing against him. His entire body was frozen, except for his head.

"Bankai, Daiguren Hyourinmaru"

I grew ice wings, ice legs, an ice tail, and an ice arm. I flew towards him at high speeds, took aim, and crashed at full force. His entire being had been taken over by a giant block if ice. I turned around to finish what I started.

"Bankai, Tsuwamono Tennotsukai"

I dashed forward. Speed, aim, slice, break, finish. It was all over.

B-side

A blinding light engulfed the entire space, making my eyes close. As soon as I was able to open my eyes, I saw we were all… back home. The outer battle was over and a smooth rain was subsiding. But our battle wasn't completely done yet. Tennotsukai had returned to his normal Katana shape, as did the guys Zanpaktou. We all turned around, exhausted, to find an even more exhausted rich, bald guy, who could barely stand up.

"Chris…" Milton said "Finish him off"

"With pleasure"

I walked towards him, looking down on him, as he looked up at me.

"I… am not… done" he said

"My heart is exhausted… and so is my soul… but I still have power."

I put on my mask, but I was so exhausted I could barely feel a rise in my power. I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up to my level. With my singed hand I punched him in, what seemed to me between my blurred vision, his nose. I punched him again, and again, and again, until I could no longer maintain my hold on his neck, and dropped him.

I fell to the ground, my mask disintegrated. Milton came up to me.

"Dude… you really need… some lessons… in killing." he said

He unsheathed his Zanpaktou.

"Don't close your eyes." he said to me, and… slice.

**Two weeks later**

Two weeks after the battle, we had a reunion at the warehouse. My hand still wrapped in a bandage from the burn.

"Guys… today we are holding this reunion with both good and bad news. First up, our bad news. Our second squad Captain is retiring from our forces."

There was a big commotion of 'awws' in the crowd.

"Tell them Mike" I said

"hey hey, listen up Dudes and Dudettes. I… need to take some time off with my girl. For now I don't feel like I might return, but maybe some day I will come back. It all depends on what happens in my future. But today we're not here to cry over my loss; we are here to celebrate the day I hand down the Captains Haori to your new Captain." he said

"Great speech dude" I whispered "Everyone please welcome, our new second squad Captain… Lahara Matsuo."

The crowd made silent for a split second, then burst into cheers. As we initiated Lahara into our troops.

"Lahara Matsuo; For showing your ability at being a battle tactics master, as well as your skills in battle; we confer upon you the position of second squad Captain. Do you promise to do your best with this position?" I asked

"I hereby promise to do be a captain to the best extent of my abilities." she said

There were more cheers, as Lahara put on her Haori, which had a symbol in the back for 'wind'.

"Now, we have a special surprise for you guys. Our squads have expanded. We have three active captains, Brian, Lahara and myself, one inactive captain, Mike; We also have our fellow Arrancar, Arrancar #1 Milton Sagaara, Arrancar #2 Charles Phoenix, and Arrancar # 21 Mia Jungura."

I said, being cut off by everyone's cheers. I waved my hands downward, top calm them down.

"However, our squads are still incomplete." I said as everyone looked as us confused

I turned around and picked up three different colored sashes from the chair behind me.

"It is time for us to choose… our three vice-captains." I said, as everyone started to whisper amongst themselves.

"No way is he serious?" "Maybe" "Nah, he's bluffin"

I handed Brian the red sash, and Lahara the pink sash, and kept the blue sash. I cleared my throat.

"For your amazing sense of justice, your mastery of Kidou, and your incredible abilities in battle, I confer the position of first squad vice-captain to… Hiroki!"

He was awestruck. He didn't know what to say, as Loren encouraged him to go up and get it. He came up, I gave him the sash, and he put it on, smiling proudly of his accomplishment. Lahara continued.

"For never giving up the fight, for showing dedication, and pride, and for you impressive battle tactics with a whip, I confer the position of second squad vice-captain to… Loren!"

She had the same reaction as Hiroki, almost bursting into tears. She came up running and put on her pink sash. Brian finished the ceremony.

"For having kick ass skills on the field, for being an awesome friend even when under pressure, and for having a mastery of Shunpo, almost as good as mine, je-je, I confer the position of third squad vice-captain to… Axel!"

Axel reacted as though he already knew he was gonna be it. You gotta admit the guy had confidence. He came up and put on his red sash. Our squads were finally complete.

After that, the battle against the Hollows continued, but at an extremely lower pace than before. We had less trouble with low-life criminals as well. But we've encountered a couple of souls along the way, which is nice. As for us, well…

Hiroki and Loren became officially bf-gf. They make an amazing combo together. Later after the ceremony we learned that Hiroki had achieved his Bankai a long time ago, but he kept it quiet out of shyness. We offered him a position as Captain, but he refused saying that he still had much to learn from, guess who, me!

Mike and Isa are enjoying their time together… in Paris! Mike opened up his own anime shop and the dough has been rolling in ever since. They send us postcards every now and then from different places. He says he's still on for the captain thing, as soon as he's done traveling the world.

Oh yeah, Milton and Zile are back together. Milton got her a sword for her birthday and guess what… it turned out to be a real Zanpaktou… actually it's an Arrancar Zanpaktou. She still doesn't know how to use it right.

Charlie and Mia got married! Mia is currently pregnant… with twins! Charlie took some time off from battling so he could attend his girl… I mean… wife. He still retains his skills though.

Brian and Axel both found girlfriends, Maria and Anna. They go out on double dates all the time; the best part of it all, the girls are Shinigami too, from Lahara's squad. And speaking of Lahara…

She's been keeping her squad up to date pretty well. More than half the squad members are girls. As long as they don't start a Shinigami women's association, it's all fine by me.

As for me… I've been keeping an eye out for more Shinigami for our squads. No luck yet, but I can feel I'm close. I've been working out a little too. My main goal is to be able to battle for a long time without the need of my mask or my Bankai. Tennotsukai thinks it's a good idea, and Lahara likes the results… if you know what I mean.

Well… this is it. The final chapter in the story that changed my life forever. If there's one thing I've learned in all of this… is that you can never give up the fight. And whether you have a Zanpaktou or not, just give it everything you've got. Fight with heart, fight with soul.

B E H I N D T H E M A S K S

E N D


End file.
